Meanwhile is an international design studio for the present tense of public spaces,
Designing products and places that shape how we live, connect, and share public space in cities and was founded in 2013 by CEO and creative director, Chris Charest.

Meanwhile's work is rooted in re-imagining how we design and activate our urban spaces for people, uniting them to foster a sense of belonging for all who use them, no matter how humble the place. Meanwhile designs for the present tense asking how can we shape our urban spaces and cities responding to now.

Meanwhile represents our commitment to impact with a triple bottom line operating philosophy and became a certified B-Corp in 2025 which underscores our work making positive impacts in the urban spaces we design which shape our everyday lives and experiences.

For over a decade, Meanwhile has been at the forefront of transforming urban landscapes with our projects, blending industrial design with creative place led solutions that deliver thriving destination projects that empower communities to unite and share meaningful experiences.

As the designer of City Blocks Urban Furniture, Meanwhile has created a platform of modular, adaptive, and customizable place based tools, more than urban furniture they are building blocks for better cities, designed to enhance the experience of our shared environments. City Blocks also launched our Art for Everyone program with a focus on bringing public art to often overlooked objects and spaces reinforcing our belief that shared spaces everywhere should spark joy, wonder, hope and a feeling of safety.

Meanwhile is found ever-present in its civic installations with work spanning across North America from the bustling energy of Downtowns like San Francisco and Vancouver to the quiet corners of brownstone lined neighborhood open streets programs in Brooklyn, NYC along with the neighborhood street plazas programs in Vancouver.

While also providing destination tourism and amenity experiences in iconic destinations like Granville Island, Toronto and Vancouver Island. Meanwhile is headquartered in Vancouver, BC and is led by creative director and CEO, Chris Charest whose vision continues to push the boundaries of global urban design in public spaces and the future of cities built for people. With every project, Meanwhile is setting a new standard for what it means to make cities work better for everyone while leaving a lasting testament of building urban spaces for all.